The invention relates generally to a bezel having at least one aperture to receive two or more forms of money, wherein the face of the bezel fits through an industry-standard size opening in the front panel of an automatic transaction machine. The opening formerly has been reserved for accommodating a bill validator only. For example, a bezel according to the invention may have one or more apertures to accept banknotes and coins, or banknotes and credit cards, or some other combination. Consequently, a bill validator and a coin validator, or a bill validator and a card reader, or some other combination of money acceptance means connect to the rear of the bezel.
Prior art candy vending machines typically accepted only coins as payment for a vend item. In contrast, modern day vending machines and other automatic transaction systems may contain a coin slot for depositing coins, a bill entryway for inserting paper currency, and a card reader opening for inserting a debit or credit card. The new payment modes have been added to vending machines over time as vending items became more expensive, and as the technology for reliable bill validators and card readers developed.
Customarily, a bezel for each form of payment having an insertion slot or opening has been attached to the front panel of a vending machine. For example, payment acceptance devices for coins, bills, tokens and cards each are connected to a bezel, and the three bezels are located on the right side of the front panel. This area is usually referred to as the control panel. However, as new forms of payment acceptance devices have been retrofit to existing machines, it has become more difficult to attach them to the control panel because the amount of space available is finite, and because of internal component space restrictions. Thus, some vending machines have bezels with money insertion slots located in areas other than the control panel. Consequently, one type of vending machine may differ from another by having bezels connected in different designated areas for payment, by accepting different forms of payment, and further may be marked in an entirely different manner. Since no standard configuration exists for accepting payment, consumers are often confused when it comes to the method and types of acceptable payments to enable a vend. Such non-uniformity may frustrate a customer, resulting in lost profits by the automatic transaction machine owners. Consequently, a need exists for a standard size bezel that can accommodate two or more money acceptance means.